Angeles Bassett Gets Her Groove On in Hancock Park

SELLERS: Courtney Vance and Angela Bassett
LOCATION: Fremont Place, Los Angeles, CA
PRICE: $5,999,000
SIZE: 4,828 square feet, 5 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms
DESCRIPTION: Spectacular Celebrity estate in Fremont Place. This home has the perfect blend of traditional elegance & sophistication! 5 Bds, 6 Bas on a 26,595 corner lot replete w/ 2,500 sq. ft. separate 2 room office/guest + bath & full gym w/ hair salon complete this extraordinary compound. Rich w/ orig details, this fabulous home has a gourmet kitchen that opens to family room, formal liv & din room, elegant foyer, master ste w/ incredible bath & closets & park-like grounds. Incl is 24/7 security of Fremont Pl.

YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Your are some lucky children today because this house, located in a particularly swanky section of Hancock Park, has a double dose of celebrity. This house is currently owned by Oscar nominated movie actress Angela Bassett and her good looking huzband Courtney Vance. Miz Bassett's Hollywood heydays were back in the 1990s when she earned an well deserved Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Tina Tuner in the film What's Love Got To Do With It. She went on to star in many film productions, most notably, of course, as Stella in the 1998 film Stella Got Her Groove Back. More recently she's learning to master the art of being a working mommy of young twins.

As for huzband Courtney Vance, well you could hardly turn on the cable television over the last several years without seeing his good looking mug staring out at you as he acted his booty off on one of the too many Law and Order franchises. Your Mama is glad for all the people for whom that program and its too many spin offs provide income and food on the table. But holy cow, Mary Mother of Jeezis, we are sick and tired of the number of cable television channels that get taken up airing the re-runs of these Law and Order programs. Ev-er-ee time we turn on the boob tube we are forced to sift through the dozen or more channels that are airing a Law and Order program. Someone needs to start a damn Law and Order channel and give those of us not interested in serial killing sex addicts some television watching peace.

Anyhoo, these two Yale trained thespians are truly the rare exception in Hollywood. Not only have they been married–to each other, mind you–for a good long time, they've lived in the same Hancock Park house for many, many years. Y'all know by now how these celebrity types tend to buy, move in to, and then sell their houses at a head spinning pace. So it's refreshing for Your Mama to see a celebrity couple who have stayed in one place long enough to actually grow some roots.

The property records we accessed are a wee bit confusing and show that the couple purchased this house either in June 1990 for $1,275,000, or in December 1994 for $772,500. Your Mama apologizes for not having this one nailed down, but we're still not quite on top of our game after being crazy sick the last few days. But either way, the Bassett/Vance clan has been in residence here for more than 10 long years, which in celebrity real estate terms is an ice age. The 4,828 square foot house features 5 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms. Also on the property is a very large, 2-story accessory building that includes an office space/guest room and bathroom as well a few very special amenities which we'll discuss below.

The Fremont Place location ensures security and privacy for both rich people and the rich and famous who call the neighborhood home. The 24 hour guard gated entrance ensures that any of you wing nuts who might have a mind to drive your sad little Saturns over to Hancock park to catch a glimpse of Miz Bassett as she waters the lawn will be sadly disappointed as you will be unceremoniously turned around at the gate and told to scatter by a burly man with a gruff voice.

The Bassett/Vance house, all creamy beige and elegant, is loaded with many of the bells and whistles a certain sort of glammy celebrity–or a rich queen–might want. And we don't mean a royal, we mean a mincing too tan man with a collection of Gucci loafers and a vintage Jaguar in the garage.

First, we have the exclusive, guard gated location which provides security and privacy for the celebrity, and the much desired exclusivity for the rich queen, who absolutely does not want to peep through the living room windows to see a beat up Ford Taurus parked at the curb.

Next we have the multi-room master suite, with a bedroom bathed in glossy and gorgeous Venetian plaster, a carpeted bathroom with a soaking tub, and an enormous dressing room. The celebrity needs all the dressing room space in order store the myriad of gowns and Jimmy Choos required to walk the red carpet day in and day out. And, of course, the rich queen needs that big dressing room in order to feel like a celebrity.

A home gym is also highly desirable to both the celebrity and the rich queen. Afterall, what celebrity, besides Matthew McConnaughy and Jake Gyllenhaal, actually wants to suffer the indignity of being seen sweating by the plebes? And of course, the rich queen has a gym membership for one reason only, and it's not the weight room.

And last, but surely not the least desirable accoutrement, a home hair salon. Need we say more?

We would like the children to note, there is no swimming pool on this property, and really, no room to put one. So six millions smackers will not buy you the pleasure of skinny dipping with a loved one in the privacy on one's back yard.

Your Mama hasn't a clue why or where the Bassett/Vance clan will be moving, but we imagine it will be a to a property with more space for swing sets and sand boxes. Your Mama wishes them a happy home, and while we're not fond of children, we wish them all the happiness of being a new parent.

Sources: Internet Movie Data Base, Socialite Life, Cele-bitchy